A Lower House member and the former president of a major offshore wind-power company were each charged with bribery by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday, in a case that has put a spotlight on government efforts to greatly ramp up renewable energy use in coming years.

Prosecutors believe former Liberal Democratic Party member Masatoshi Akimoto, 48, a strong advocate of offshore wind power in Japan, received over ¥60 million between March 2019 and June of this year from Masayuki Tsukawaki, 64, the former president of Japan Wind Development.

The alleged bribe came from two sources, both of which involve horse racing — a passion the two men share. Between 2021 and this year, roughly ¥31 million was given to Akimoto by a racehorse owners’ group that he and Tsukawaki were involved with.

The remaining ¥30 million was provided to Akimoto in 2019, and served as a horse owner registration fee with the Japan Racing Association.

Separately, Akimoto was also charged by Tokyo prosecutors over his suspected fraudulent receipt of ¥2 million in subsidies to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Akimoto has denied the bribery charges while Tsukawaki has reportedly admitted to them. Tokyo prosecutors have obtained a February 2019 email from Tsukawaki to a number of Japan Wind Development executives saying he’d urged Akimoto to ask questions in parliament about offshore wind development projects in Aomori Prefecture, where the company was interested in winning a contract.

Tsukawaki’s request to Akimoto came after the prefecture told Japan Wind Development that parts of Mutsu Bay were unfit for wind power generation due to possible interference with Maritime Self-Defense Force drills and aircraft instruments.

On Feb. 27, 2019, two days after Aomori Prefecture notified the company of the issue, Akimoto spoke in the Diet, calling on the government to refrain from excessively restricting offshore wind power operations on the basis of how it might impact defense facilities.

"If it does not pose a threat to national defense, offshore wind power should be fully developed in Aomori Prefecture," he said. To make his point, Akimoto referred to a map of the bay that Aomori Prefecture had originally given to Japan Wind Development, which was conducting an environmental impact assessment at the time.

Akimoto was known as one of the leading voices within the LDP for more renewable energy and as an opponent of nuclear power. He helped draft an April 2019 law opening up the way for increased offshore wind development, and was a member of an LDP Diet group promoting renewable energy.

Akimoto was also close to former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga — who declared in October 2020 that Japan would aim to be carbon neutral by 2050 — and belonged to Suga’s support group of younger Diet members, called Ganesha no Kai. Akimoto has also been praised by digital minister Taro Kono, who shares his views on renewable energy.

Attention now turns to how the bribery charges against Akimoto and Tsukawaki will unfold in court, and their possible impact on the pace of further offshore wind development — a key part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s green transformation policy.

Japan's aim of having renewables account for between 36% and 38% of its 2030 electricity mix was officially adopted by the Kishida administration in October 2021. To help meet that goal, as well as the 2050 carbon neutral goal, the green transformation policy includes using 10 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030 and to increase its usage to between 35 and 45 GW by 2040. The higher figure is equivalent to the power generated by nearly 40 conventional nuclear reactors.

However, given Japan’s offshore wind capacity was less than 1 GW last year, both the government and private industry will have to move quickly in order to meet these goals.